John Thomas Wolford (born October 16, 1995) is an
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
for the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...
of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL). He played
college football at
Wake Forest and signed with the
New York Jets as an
undrafted free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
in 2018, and played for the
Los Angeles Rams from 2019 to 2022. He has also played for the
Arizona Hotshots
The Arizona Hotshots were a professional American football franchise based in Tempe, Arizona, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), which played one season from February 2019 to April 2019. They played their h ...
of the
Alliance of American Football.
Early years
Wolford was born in
Dallas, Texas
Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...
, and moved to Jacksonville at an early age where he attended
Bishop Kenny High School
Bishop Kenny High School (commonly referred to as Bishop Kenny or BKHS) is a private, college-preparatory, coeducational Catholic high school in Jacksonville, Florida. It is located in and administered by the Roman Catholic Diocese of St. August ...
.
As a pro-style
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
, he was rated a three-star recruit by
Rivals.com
Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel.
History
Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...
and
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...
and committed to play
college football at
Wake Forest. He was briefly the all-time leader in all major statistical passing categories for high school football in the state of Florida.
College career
Wolford started his college career as the first Wake Forest player to start all 12 games as a true freshman, setting school records in attempts, passing yards, touchdowns, and completion percentage by a true freshman. He struggled at times, throwing 13 interceptions in his first eight games, but showed improvement over the year, throwing only one interception in the final four. He finished eighth in the
ACC in passing yards per game at 169.8, ranking second among freshmen in the conference behind only
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
's
Brad Kaaya.
He had another strong year as a sophomore. In the first game of the season, he threw for a career-high 323 yards in a 41–3 win over
Elon; the next week, he threw for 373 yards in a 30–17 loss vs.
Syracuse. His 696 passing yards in the first two games constituted the best start ever by a Wake Forest quarterback. As a junior, he started 11 of 13 games, missing one game due to injury.
As a senior, he had the most impressive season of his college career, earning second-team all-
ACC honors and setting school records in single-season
passer rating
Passer rating (also known as passing efficiency in college football) is a measure of the performance of passers, primarily quarterbacks, in gridiron football. There are two formulas currently in use: one used by both the National Football Leag ...
, passing yards, touchdown passes, total offense yards, and touchdowns, as well as the school record in career touchdowns. In the
Belk Bowl
The Duke’s Mayo Bowl is an annual college football bowl game that has been played at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, since 2002. The game currently features a matchup between a team from the Atlantic Coast Conference (AC ...
, he set school bowl game records in completions (32), attempts (49), passing yards (400), and touchdowns (4), becoming the first
FBS player since 2000 to pass for 400+ yards, rush for 65+ yards, and throw no interceptions in a bowl game.
Statistics
Professional career
New York Jets
After going undrafted in the
2018 NFL Draft, Wolford signed as an
undrafted free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
with the
New York Jets. He played in most of the preseason finale against the
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
, completing 8 passes on 20 attempts for 89 yards and an interception. He was waived on September 2 and signed to the practice squad the next day
He was released from the practice squad a day later to make room for former
New York Giants quarterback
Davis Webb
Arizona Hotshots
The
Arizona Hotshots
The Arizona Hotshots were a professional American football franchise based in Tempe, Arizona, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), which played one season from February 2019 to April 2019. They played their h ...
drafted Wolford with their second-round pick in the
2019 AAF QB Draft. He entered the preseason competing with first-round pick
Trevor Knight
Trevor A. Knight (born October 3, 1993) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Oklahoma and Texas A&M. After leading Oklahoma to an 8–5 record in the 2014 season, he lost the starting job in an open quarter ...
for the starting job; in the Hotshots' sole preseason game against the
Birmingham Iron
The Birmingham Iron were a professional American football franchise based in Birmingham, Alabama, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), which played one season from February 2019 to April 2019. They played thei ...
, Wolford completed 9 of 14 passes for 116 yards, a touchdown, and a
two-point conversion
In gridiron football, a two-point conversion or two-point convert is a play a team attempts instead of kicking a one-point conversion immediately after it scores a touchdown. In a two-point conversion attempt, the team that just scored must run ...
. He was named starter prior to the regular season.
In the first game of the regular season, a 38–22 win over the
Salt Lake Stallions
The Salt Lake Stallions were a professional American football franchise based in Salt Lake City, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), which began play in February 2019. The Stallions were the northernmost team i ...
, Wolford completed 18 of 29 passes for 275 yards, four touchdowns, and two two-point conversions; for his performance, he was named Week 1 AAF Offensive Player of the Week. He earned a second Player of the Week award in Week 7, when he completed 15 of 19 passes for 212 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, and a 126.3 passer rating and ran for a 35-yard touchdown in a 32–15 victory against the
San Diego Fleet.
Los Angeles Rams
On April 10, 2019, Wolford signed with the
Los Angeles Rams of the NFL after the AAF suspended operations. He was waived during final roster cuts on August 31, 2019, but was signed the next day to the Rams' practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Rams on December 31, 2019.
Following an injury to starter
Jared Goff
Jared Thomas Goff (born October 14, 1994) is an American football quarterback for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at California, where he set the Pac-12 Conference season records for passi ...
during a Week 16 game against the
Seattle Seahawks, Rams coach
Sean McVay
Sean McVay (born January 24, 1986) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He became the youngest NFL head coach in the modern era when he was hired by the Rams in 201 ...
confirmed on December 28, 2020, that Wolford would start the final game of the season against the
Arizona Cardinals. Wolford would become the first quarterback to make his first start with a team during Week 17 with a playoff berth on the line since
Kyle Orton
Kyle Raymond Orton (born November 14, 1982) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football for Purdue, where he started four straight bowl games. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Dr ...
with the
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...
in 2013. After throwing an interception to Cardinals linebacker
Jordan Hicks
Jordan Hicks (born June 27, 1992) is an American football middle linebacker for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL) who won a Super Bowl ring with the Philadelphia Eaglesin 2018. He played college football at Texas.
Hi ...
on his first pass attempt of the game, Wolford quickly turned things around, completing 22 of 38 passes for 231 yards while also rushing six times for 56 yards as the Rams went on to beat the Cardinals 18–7 to clinch a playoff berth. He became the first quarterback to pass for 200+ yards and rush for 50+ yards in an NFL debut.
Wolford started for the Rams in the wild card playoff game at the Seattle Seahawks, but left in the first quarter with a neck injury after sustaining a helmet to helmet hit from Seahawks safety
Jamal Adams. He was taken to the hospital and later was released from the hospital the same day. Wolford completed three of six passes for 29 yards prior to leaving the game, which the Rams went on to win 30–20.
In 2021, Wolford served as the backup for the newly acquired quarterback
Matthew Stafford
John Matthew Stafford (born February 7, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia, where he was a first-team All-American, and was selected ...
. Wolford also remained the backup during the Rams' playoff run, winning
Super Bowl LVI when they defeated the
Cincinnati Bengals.
On November 13, 2022, Wolford was named the starting quarterback for week 10 against the
Arizona Cardinals after Stafford was placed in
concussion protocol. Coincidentally,
Kyler Murray
Kyler Cole Murray (born August 7, 1997) is an American football quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). Following a stint at Texas A&M, Murray played college football at Oklahoma, where he won the Heisman Trop ...
also missed the game due to injury, with
Colt McCoy
Daniel "Colt" McCoy (born September 5, 1986) is an American football quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Texas, where he won several awards and honors as a senior in 2009. McC ...
serving as the starter in a backup versus backup matchup.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
On May 9, 2023, Wolford signed with the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...
. He was released on August 29, 2023 and re-signed to the practice squad. Wolford was promoted to the active roster on October 31, 2023.
Career statistics
AAF career statistics
NFL career statistics
Regular season
Postseason
Career awards and records
* First quarterback in NFL history to pass for 200+ yards and rush for 50+ yards in an NFL debut.
Personal life
Wolford's uncle,
Will Wolford
William Charles Wolford (born May 18, 1964) is a former American football offensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL) for the Buffalo Bills, the Indianapolis Colts, and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Playing career
Wolford attended St. Xav ...
, was a three-time
Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed thro ...
offensive tackle who played 13 seasons in the NFL.
References
External links
Los Angeles Rams bioWake Forest bio*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolford, John
1995 births
Living people
American football quarterbacks
Arizona Hotshots players
Bishop Kenny High School alumni
Los Angeles Rams players
New York Jets players
Tampa Bay Buccaneers players
Players of American football from Jacksonville, Florida
Wake Forest Demon Deacons football players
Players of American football from Dallas